Louis w



(No Model.)

L. W. LEVY.

OPERA GLASS HOLDER.

No. 491,711. Patented Feb. 14, 1893.

FIG. 7.

F IG. 6.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 4.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

By his Atlomeys. W i

ITE

LOUIS XV. LEVY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

. OPERA-GLASS HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,711, dated February 14, 1893.

Application filed June 2'7, 1892. Serial No. 438,083. (No model.)

To otZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS W. LEVY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Opera-Glass Holders and Similar Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to holders for opera glasses and similar devices, and particularly to that class of holders now in use where the opera glass is clamped between two grippers or jaws. In such holders the working faces of the jaws have heretofore been provided with a soft covering to protect the article grasped from impairment by contact with the gripper. It has been customary to glue to the working face a small piece of leather for this purpose, and in some instances to envelop the end of the jaw in kid or other soft material, which is held in place either by being glued to the jaw or by being unable to escape over the enlarged end thereof. Such jaws have been unsightly and disadvantageous by reason of the exposed edge of the covering when applied to the working face only, and by reason of the seam uniting the tubular covering, and the liability of the outer portion of the latter to become stained in use.

My invention aims to provide an improved gripper or jaw of this kind which will be more ornamental than heretofore, and in which there will be no liability of escape of the covering and the latter will be protected from impairment at back, and in which the seam uniting the edges of the covering can be concealed and protected.

To this end in carrying out my invention I provide a shield exteriorly of the covering, and in its preferred adaptation I construct the gripper with a slot rearwardly of its working face, through which slot the covering passes to envelope the forward portion of the gripper, and within which slot the seam joining the edges of the covering can be concealed, the slot being preferably closed at top and bottom of the covering, whereby the escape of the latter is prevented. lhe portion of the gripper rearwardly of the slot constitutes a protecting and concealing shield which may be formed integrally with the gripper or applied thereto, and maybe of any suitable material and be ornamented as desired.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain adaptations of my invention, Figure 1 is an elevation of an opera glass holder applied to an opera glass, the latter, and a portion of the handle and jaws of the holder beingin section, and the holder being constructed according to the preferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a face view of one of the gripper jaws shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the other jaw; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the upper part of the holder, showing a portion of one of the jaws in section; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the jaws looking in the opposite direction to Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the jaws showing another form of my invention; Fig. 7 isa similar view showing still another form, and Fig. 8 is a cross section on a larger scale of one of the arms of a gripper or jaw constructed according to my invention.

Referring to the drawings let A indicate the handle of an opera glass holder, B an opera glass held thereby, O the bridge piece of the glass, and D the gripperor jaws of the holder carried by the handle A and embracing the bridge piece 0 of the glass, as usual.

The holder A and gripper D are in general constructed according to a form now used in which the gripper consists of two jaws, the inner jaw lettered E, which is forked and has two upwardly extending arms a a between which passes the screw bar F of the opera glass, and the outer jaw G which is in this instance a solid and substantially flat faced jaw adapted to embrace the outer face of the bridge piece 0, whereby the latter when the jaws are closed together is clamped between their opposite inner faces. The jaws are of that known construction having a tapering screw thread 17 engaging a tapering nut c in the holder A, linked together by a pin d at their lower ends and tending to separate under a spring c seated in their opposite faces, whereby as the jaws are screwed into the handle they are forced together to clamp the glass, and as they are screwed outwardly therefrom they are separated by the spring to permit the removal of the glass. The jaw E is of a known construction having working faces f adapted to embrace the side of the bridge piece 0, a shoulder g at the bottom to abut against the lower edge of the bridge piece, and projections h at the tops. of the arms a adapted to take over theiupper edge of the bridge piece, whereby displacement of the latter is prevented when it is clamped between the' jaws. The jaw G is as usual constructed with a working face f and a curved or beveled upper' end 2' for facilitating the application of the holder to the bridge piece of the glass.

As thus far described the jaws are of 7 known construction.

jaws with a covering for their working faces and arrange a shield exteriorly of said covering for protecting and concealing the same at a point other than opposite said working face. This maybe accomplished in various ways, such for example as that shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, which is the preferred manner of carrying out my invention. In these figures the gripper or jaw is shown as provided with a covering H, which is preferably of some soft material such as kid, and envelopes the working faces fof the gripper or jaw to prevent direct contact between such faces and the article engaged by the j aw, and which extends thence rearwardly to and under a shield I, by which it is covered concealed and protected at the rear of the working face to which it is applied. Preferably the jaw is constructed with a slot, recess or groove j rearwardly of its working face or faces, and the covering H is applied about the portion of the jaw in front of this slot and passed into or through the latter, whereby it envelopes this'portioirof the jaw, while its rear side is covered by the shield I. Preferably the covering II is constructed of a piece of kid stitched together at its edges and the seam or joint Z thus formed is arranged within the slot and thereby concealed and protected by the shield I, as best seen in Figsmt and 8. This may be done by passing the covering through the slot, drawing it tightly around the jaw, stitching its edges together, and then moving it around the jaw until its seam Z is well within the slot;

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive the shield I consists of a fiat piece of metal soldered or otherwise applied to the rear side of the gripper or jaw, the latter or the flat piece of metal being first recessed to provide the slot j between the parts when they are fixed together. In constructing the parts in this manner the jaws can be completed and ornamented before applying the covering, and the latter can then be applied withcut danger of injury orstaiuing. 'The escape of the covering is in this instance prevented by the joint between the shield and jaw at top.

In using my improved holder the user will grasp the jaws by the shields I I at their outer sides and hence the coverings H H will not be stained, since they need not necessarily come in contact with the users hand, and will never necessarily contact with anything except at the working face, and there only with the bridge piece of the glass. 7

as these may be varied as circumstances or :those skilled in the art may dictate. According to my invention I provide the Fig. 6 shows an adaptation of my invention as applied to the jaw E, in which the shield -vention as applied to the jaw E, in which the shield forms an integral part of the jaw and is here lettered I", it being formed in this instance bysawingthe recess, here lettered into the arms of the jaw from their outer ends to the requisite distance. In this construction the outer ends of the slot may be left open as shown, or they may be closed in any known manner.

The sectional View in Fig. 8 shows in dot ted lines the bridge piece 0 of an opera glass, and in section one of the arms a of a jaw enveloped by its covering H and bearing at its working face f against the bridge piece 0 at front, and at rear the shield I is shown as protecting the back portion of the covering and its seam Z which latter is located within the slot. j formed between the shield and the forward portion of the arm a.

What I claim is, in opera glass holders and. similar devices, the following defined novel features and combinations, substantially as set forth, namely:-

1. In opera glass holders or similar devices, the gripper or jaw, in combination with a covering therefor enveloping a portion of the gripper, and a shield exteriorly of said covering.

2. In opera glass holders or similar devices, the gripper or jaw, in combination with a covering therefor of soft materialapplied over the working face of the gripper, and a shield of hard material carried by said gripper and protectingsaid covering at a point other than opposite said working face.

extend over its Working face, rearwardly over its sides and within said slot.

the latter can be concealed within said slot or to recess.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS W. LEVY. v Witnesses:

GEORGE H. FRASER, CHARLES K. FRASER. 

